Inuyasha, A New Chapter Begins: Ayami
by hhallh13
Summary: This tells the story of a young orphan girl who meets Inuyasha at the age of 7. They become best friends. But all that is ripped away the day Inuyasha loses her to demons. An alteration on the anime TV Series Rated M for possible future mature content
1. Ayami

**Best Friends During Rough Times:**

I walked for what seemed like years but had only been three days, non stop. I wandered, not knowing where I was or where I was going. I stumbled over a protruding root in the woods and tripped, grasping a tree for support. Thats when I heard the foot steps. I picked my little 7 year old body up as quickly as I could and started running. I saw something red flash in the distance. A person?

"HELP ME!" My little girlish screams bounced back at me off of trees and bushes. No answer except the accelorating foot steps and crashing from behind me. Something big was chasing me and I think it wants to kill me.

"Help me!!! Please!" There was the red flash again, this time on the right. I turned in that direction, not paying attention, and crashed face first into a thick tree. My eyes blurred as they filled with tears and I pinched my nose as I felt the blood streaming down my face. I couldnt see and my body was in such a state of shock from the run in with the tree that I couldnt even walk straight. I was sure I was going to be captured and eaten by the demon that chased me.

Strong, but small hands grabbed me from behind and lifted me into his arms. I caught a glimpse of white hair and a worried face that was lined with saddness. Then I passed out.

I woke up by a waterfall, a woman and boy standing over me. The boy looked to be about my age, maybe a little older. The woman hand kind eyes and a soft, gentle touch as she bandaged my legs where they has been torn by roots and washed my face which was hard with dried blood.

"Inuyasha, fetch me more water." She said this not as an order, but more like a kind suggestion. The boy named Inuyasha did as he was told and brought back a fresh bucket of water just as my eyes opened. "So, you are awake?"

I nodded, unable to do much else on account of my head was killing me. She reached down and lifted me into a sitting position, the boy got behind me to keep me steady. I felt strangely at ease with these strangers.

"Do you remember your name?"

I nodded. Clearing my throat I prepared to speak. "My name" I coughed. "My name is Ayami...Ayami Hiwatari." The woman nodded towards me as she wiped my face with a soft peice of wet cloth.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Ayami Hiwatari. My name is Izayoi and this is my 9 year old son Inuyasha." He breifly nodded to me as he took his seat by his mother, I was sitting by myself now.

I looked at Inuyasha, he saw me staring and smiled.

"Are you alright?" He seemed really nice.

"Yeah, thanks." His mother smiled at her son and then at me.

"You are welcome to stay with us until you are well enough to go back to your own family" I looked at the ground, my eyes beggining to water and she looked taken aback. "Oh, was your family murdered by that demon that was chasing you?" I nodded, and with one swift movement, she scooped me up into her arms and I cried, letting all my frustrations and saddness slip out of my onto her kimono. I had not been able to cry for them for the past three days because I was too worried about staying alive to worry about the dead. But now, I felt safe enough to let it all out.

Two weeks later, I was sitting by a sparkling, clear pond on a big rock. Inuyasha was standing in the shallows of the pond trying to catch some fish for dinner. He clawed at one, slashing it up onto the banks. Pouncing on it, he got control, it died and he held it up to show me. It was a pretty wimpy looking fish but I smiled back at him anyway.

"Only three more I yelled." He frowned at me. It had taken him the past twenty minutes to catch one fish.

I had been pretty depressed over these two weeks. Inuyasha and his mother had come back with me to my house, which was only a days walk since when I had run away, I had run in circles, until Inuyasha found me. We buried my family along with two of the other villagers who had died trying to give me time to run away. I didnt cry much. A few thick tears rolled down my cheeks, but with Inuyusha next to me, holding my hand I was able to get through the makeshift ceremony we held for the dead.

I was too young to know what love was as I stared down at the young, white haired, boy in front of me. Scrambling to catch our dinner, he would occasionally turn up to see if I was watching. He was a show off like that.

Finally, with my help, we caught three more fish and brought them "home". Lady Izayoi cooked them over a pit of fire and then we ate, Izayoi telling us we should go and eat our fish outside in the fields and look up at the remarkably clear sky. So we did, she stayed by the pond alone, watching us from a distance.

The moon was full, casting eerie shadows all over the fields. I was a little scared so I stuck close to Inuyasha. We found a place in the middle of the field where the grass had been worn down by a sleeping animal and we sat there. Once we finished our fish in silence other than the occasional "this is good" "mmm, delicious" we laid on our backs and watched the stars glisten up above.

Inuyasha broke the silence first. "Ayami?" I turned to him, signaling that I was listening. "Your my best friend." I could feel myself blushing, but being only seven years old, I had no clue why I was blushing. "Your my best friend because all the other kids around here hate me because of what I am." I proped myself up on one elbow and stared down at him, he kept looking at the stars.

"They hate me because I am a half demon." He turned to me, waiting for me to scream and run away. I would have, had it not been for the past two weeks I had spent with him, getting to know him. I hated demons for what one did to my parents and my two older brothers. I despised them, I wanted them all to die, to perish, to disapear and never come back. I wanted to be the one to kill them, one by one. But something about Inuyasha made none of that relevant. I didnt see him as a Demon. I saw him as a nine year old boy with no father, one brother who hated him, and he had no friends. He was alone in the world except for his mother. We were alike in that way I guess. That must have been why I smiled at him and said

"Your my best friend too." Then I lay on my back and we watched as a shooting star went by. I wished for Inuyasha and I to always be best friends. I dont know what he wished for, but I always hoped it was the same thing.

Three years passed and I was now ten, Inuyasha Twelve. We were out in the woods picking berries to eat, Inuyasha had taught me the previous year which berries were good and which were poisonous. He also taught me various ways to use different healing plants which he had learned from his mother.

Lady Izayoi had passed away one year earlier. She had come down with a cold, which rapidly turned into the flu which enveloped her entire body. She lasted only four weeks. On her last night, we were running around, helping her as much as we could, then she called us to her side. Her hand landed on mine, bring it to the place on the floor which was by where her hand was resting, then grabbed Inuyasha's hand, and placed it on top of mine, then she rested hers on top.

"Ayami, you have been like a daughter to me these past two years. And I am so glad I got to be like a mother to you. Inuyasha, will you promise to take care of her?" He nodded, big fat tears rolling down his cheeks, he dried them with his sleeve as fast as they were comming. "And Saori, do you promise to help look after Inuyasha?" I nodded as well, smiling down at her for thinking I could protect Inuyasha. "Then I must go now. You two must stick together." She coughed, Inuyasha removed his hand from the dogpile and grabbed at his mother's shoulders.

"Mother!" She blinked, looking him straight in the eyes and smiled.

"Your father is waiting for me Inuyasha, I will give him your blessing."

"Mother, no, please dont leave me." She was gone, and he lay over her body all night, and I sat by him too, silently consoleing him with just my presence.

"These are the roots used to heal cuts right?" I called out in my still innocent and girly voice. He walked over, took them from my hand and passed them back to me.

"Yeah."

I had learned to cope with his new gruffness. I knew it was because of his mother. It was hard for me to lose my whole family as well, I guess everyone handles it in their own way. He was never really mean to me, just, rough sometimes I guess. Of course it was never on purpose, if he knocked me down, he helped me back up, saying sorry and putting herbs on my cuts.

We took care of each other and was there when the other one needed consoling or help of any kind. It was this way until the day I turned twelve.


	2. The Stone of Fate

Chapter 2:

The stone of fate

"Inuyasha I am going to get water to boil the rice! Ill be right back." I yelled to him and walked out the front door. I headed down the nearby hill to the little brook where we got our drinking water. I knelt down, the bucket at my side and cupped my hands, placing them into the water and withdrawing them then splashed the cool water onto my face. It was a humid day and the sun was going down so the water felt cool and refreshing on my face. I reached in a second time and splashed the water on my face again. I opened my eyes, wiping them on my sleeve so I could see clearly and looked down at my reflection. My hair had gotten long since I met Inuyasha. When I first met him you could have mistaken my for a boy because my hair was a little above my ears, today, on my twelvth birthday, having cut it many times, my hair was about three inches past my shoulders. Inuyasha would sometimes ask me "why dont you let your hair grow out, it would look nice." And I would just smile at him and reply "I dont know, I just cant stand having the hair in my face."

I looked at my hair and my face in the reflection in the water, mesmerized by how my face swirled and rippled with the movement of the water. My face scrunched up as something obscured my reflection. It was blood, a seemingly endless pool of it comming down the brook from up stream. I turned to my left trying to see where it was comming from but I couldnt see that far. I stood up, the bucket next to me falling over into the water and floating off down stream. I had to get Inuyasha. There wouldnt be much I could do if bad people came but maybe Inuyasha could protect us with his demon powers. I ran, the front of my clothing soaked from splashing water on my face, I heard cries comming from my right now as I had turned and started running back to the house.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" I yelled, my voice wasnt loud enough because it was choaked with fear. "Inuyasha! Come outside quickly!" He appeared in the doorway, a feeling of releif swept over me until I saw the look on his face.

"Ayami! Run, theres a demon behind you!" He jumped from the porch and ran towards me but he was too far away, I felt big, strong hands grab me, one covering my mouth, the other around my waist. The demon pulled me up off the ground. I could still see Inuyasha over the demon's fingers. He was running towards me, anger on his face, malice, he wanted to slaughter this demon just for touching me. I felt tears running down my cheeks, demons began emerging all around me, one jumped at Inuyasha, knocking him off balance, he clawed at the demon, slicing it into two. The demon that was holding me began retreating, I felt us kick off the ground, the world began spinning wildly. I caught quick glimpses of the red fire rat clothing Inuyasha wore and then nothing but the whirling wind that roared in my ears.

I sat on a hard wooden bench, staring at my ankle. The chain that connected me to the wall was so troublesome. I couldnt do a thing about it either. But soon, very soon I would make my break, I would get away from these demons that had enslaved me for the past four and a half years. I was now nearly seventeen and I wanted to find Inuyasha. He was the only thought that kept me going. I had no doubt in my mind that he was still alive, but I needed to find him, and soon. I feared I would die in this place so many times, but I always had at least a glimmer of hope that I would be freed. I had a plan that when they unhooked me from the wall to chain me to that damned demon dog so I could be their servant that I would somehow kill the dog, not likely, and escape, I had no clue how. Recently though, strange things had been happening to me. Like I found that when I was sad and there was water nearby, the water would move, sometimes jumping from the pot it was in onto the floor. I also found that when I was angry there would often be earthquakes. I had no clue what this meant, and frankly I didnt care about strange coincidences, I cared about getting out of this damn death hole. It was smelly and those ugly, red skinned demons with their disgusting bodilly functions were getting on my last nerves. I swear if they touched me one more time I would...I would...Hell I dont know what I would, or rather...what I could do.

The lowerling demon who took care of me came by my cell. He walked in and unhooked me from the wall. He turned to me and whispered, stopping just before the door to the courtyard.

"I replaced the demon dog with a replica. If you get the chance to run, take it. I can cover you, keeping the others at bay while you make your escape."

"I cant understand why your helping me." I said. He looked up at me, with much sadness in his eyes.

"One of us has to get out of here. But sadly, I am certain it will not be me. And besides my days are nearly up, I have no other place in the world, a 700 year old underling demon has no place to go. But a beautiful young human like you could have a much better life elsewhere."

"Thank you." I knelt down and kissed him on the cheek. He tasted like sulfer but I didnt complain. We walked out to the demon dog's cave and he attatched the fake dog to my chain, then took me to the main house. There were demons everywhere outside, this was going to be harder than I thought. I had a pitcher of pigs blood and a plate full of assorted lamb parts, I carried them into the main building, the demon dog imposter at my side. I could tell the fake was real, he was just trained to be good, and wasnt trained to gaurd me. I hoped none of the demons would notice. I brought the platter up to the head demon, the very one that had kidnapped me so very long ago.

"Master Jinpa, your food is ready." I said in an uttmost kind voice and placed it on the hard, metal table next to his lounge chair. He smiled at me, grabbing at my waist as I tried to walk away. He pulled me up onto the lounge chair with him, placing me, in a laying position, in front of him. His body was coarse and hard behind me and he smelled of rotten meat. The imposter demon dog was dragged along with me, falling sideways and laying beneath the chair.

"You leaving so soon Ayami?"

"I must tend to the others, you have guests today do you not?"

"I do, but did I say anything about leaving me to serve them?" He touched my hair, which was now past my waist since it had not been cut for five years, and ran his fingers through it. It was all I could do not to shudder at his touch.

"Please, Master Jinpa, I have much work to accomplish before Kojima brings me back to my cell." I tried to sound utterly enthused with doing my work, he pondered and huffed at me. Thank god I wasnt turned towards him because I could swear I felt flecks of his spit and snot hit my bare arms and neck. He released me and I fell, catching myself gracfully, onto the floor. I stood up and walked out of the main building. Once I was out of eye sight of any demons, I got up onto the demon dogs back. He was so large that my feet no longer touched the ground once I was on top of him. I whispered to run into his ear and he did. He headed straight into the woods behind the main building. No one saw as I took off, finally running away, into the woods with the imposter demon dog.

My body ached, I had a high fever. The lady exorcist was mumbling words and waving a fan around me, causing the smoke from the fire to swirl around me. I had not expected that when I had been kidnapped, there had been a curse placed upon me.

"My my, young lady, you must have incurred the wrath of many demons. You say you were kidnapped five years ago?" She asked and I nodded. I told her the story through gritted teeth, the agony of my insides twisting around was getting too much to bare.

"Well, this particular curse is meant to make the victim suffer for 2 weeks. You are also setting off a very distinct smell right now, a smell that only the one that placed the curse on you can smell. The two weeks gives the curse giver enough time to find and remove the curse. So, I will tell you what. I will take you into the woods, pretend to leave you there, and when the demon comes and removes the curse I will kill him." Again I nodded, rocking from side to side on my back, my eyes tightly closed. She lifted me up into her arms, she had very strong arms, and carried me into the woods. Only hours later Jinba arrived, seemingly alone, this I thought was very strange.

"Little Ayami, where are you? I came to find you!" He spotted me and walked over, bending down beside me, placing my hands in his. "Ah, here you are. You should not have run away. I came all alone to find you because the others say you are not worth the trouble, they all wanted to kill you when they find you. And since I am the only one that could smell you, I sent them all off in other directions. I came to save you Ayami. But first, let me remove this curse so we can speak plainly to each other." He placed his hands over my chest and murmered some words and the pain was gone, I sat up, gasping for air. He smirked at me. "Now Ayami, you have been a very bad girl, running away on me like that, do you not realize how good I have been to you through all these years? I could have killed you and eaten you many times. Are you really worth all the trouble?" I shrugged, this caused him to turn even more red, anger flooding his face. "Fine then, if you do not appreciate me then I will eat your flesh and you shall become one with me!" He reached down but retracted his hand yelling in pain. The lady exorcist, with her hands up, had shot at the demon with lightning which had come from her fingers. She hit the ground with her foot, a large rock comming out, and pushed forward with her arms, sending the two ton rock hurtling at the demons head. The impact was sickening, his blood covered me and the cracks of his skull made me nausious, yet I couldnt turn away. When I did, the exorcist held out her hand and brought me back to her hut.

"I sense great power in you Ayami. The same that I had at your age."

"You mean I have powers like that?" I reffered to the lightning which shot from her finger tips. She laughed a little and nodded.

"Yes, Ayami, that power. If you will stay with me for just six months, I will teach you everything you need to know, then you can go and search for this Inuyasha fellow with complete confidence in yourself. You will be able to travel alone without falling prey to another demon." I nodded.

"Alright, I will stay."

Two months flew by quickly and I was learning fast. I had some control over all of my known powers by this point, but I was no where near the power of lady exorcist. She also taught me the ways of the exorcist. We fought many demons, mostly to help me learn how to exorcise them, and sometimes using my powers on them. I was developing quickly. One day I left to go find herbs. I came back an hour later to find my lady exorcist lying dead on the floor in the hut. She looked like she had aged one hundred years. Originally she had seemed to be only in her late twenties. Now I saw that some kind of spell must have been keeping her alive and looking young for so long. I noticed the slices in her stomach and on her face. A demon must have done this. I reached down and took the necklace off her neck, wiping off the blood and placing it around my own neck. SHe had alwyas told me that if anything ever happened to her, the necklace would be mine. When the cool, blue rock hit my neck I felt a tingling run down my chest, it enveloped my whole body. She had never told me what the necklace did or why it was so special. I felt very calm all of a sudden. I fell to my knees and unknowingly placed my hands in a prayer position. My body began to stiffen, I opened my eyes, catching one last glimpse of the world before it faded away and my body turned to stone, my whole body, except the necklace.


	3. a new ally

**Chapter 3: **

**A new ally**

Another two years passed and my body had seen many parts of the country side. I had been in a temple in the west until it was ransacked and then I was sold to a wealthy, elderly couple who placed me in their family shrine. When they passed away I was lost to their shrine for months until the shrine burnt to the ground, along with the rest of the house. As it was in the middle of nowhere, no one cared or noticed that all that was left of a wealthy estate was me, a lonely statue praying to the sky with a blue beaded necklace around my neck.

Two years to the day passed and suddenly I felt warm. It all had passed by so quickly, like I had been asleep, waking every now and then to see the world and then see it fade once more. My eyes focused, my body was tilted on the side of a dirt road. I felt the familiar tingling down my chest as the blue stone shone brightly. Suddenly, my legs felt the hard ground beneath their knelt position, my arms felt weak from being held up so long, and my body tumbled sideways, falling to the ground. Moments later the muscles in my arms and legs regained their strength enough to pull me to my feet, stumbling sideways, I grabbed a tree trunk to steady myself. I looked around, having no clue where I was I went right down the dirt road, having a strong feeling that that was where I needed to go.

I no longer really felt the pain in my muscles, I felt stronger, I had more will power and I could feel another type of power running through me. Probably the training I had gotten from that old woman before she was murdered and I turned to stone.

I had been walking for 2 days straight without rest, having gone off the beaten path a few hours earlier due to my feelings. I had only been going in the direction I was going because of the strong urges my body had to go a certain way, and I didn't hesitate to obey. I was now walking through a large open field filled with tall green grass. I noticed a noise to my left; I did not turn but kept walking on my path. I could sense it in my body that it was a demon. A very large, hungry demon was lurking through the grass but I knew it was not hunting me, for it also had gotten a strong urge to avoid me, and was now after another moving target, a ways ahead of me. Suddenly my body began running towards the victim to be, trying to beat the demon but it was too fast and was gaining. It passed me and I saw the largeness of his body. It was a large caterpillar like demon, with large pincers and spiky legs. I saw the figure just up ahead, it was a monk, dressed in a long, dark purplish-black robe, a gold colored staff in his right hand.

"Hey you! Get out of there, a demon is headed your w..." My words were not loud enough to reach him in time, the demon jumped at the man, blocking him from view, and I could only assume the worst, the man had been devoured by the beast. My pace slowed, my heart slowed, and the image in front of me slowed. I let out one final sigh and, following my body, turned right onto a path. I was too far away to notice when the caterpillar demon disappeared into the monk's right hand, and him turning to follow, unknowingly, down the same path as I did.

I soon arrived in a small village and decided it was best to stop and rest for a while. I needed new clothes as well as a place to stay, but I had none so, noticing a little shrine on top of a nearby hill, I decided it was best to stay there for the night which was rapidly approaching. Luckily, there was a small pillow and blanket stored in the corner of the shrine, apparently other people had had the same idea as me in the past. I was very hungry, but being that I was way more tired, I laid down and fell asleep instead of searching for food. I awoke suddenly in the middle of the night; a strange noise had stirred me outside. I sensed a demon…a demon similar to the one that had eaten the monk earlier in the day. I flung the blanket off of my body and leapt to my feet, running full speed out towards the village where I sensed the demon. I reached the village to see fire raging inside many of the villager's homes and stores, and villagers scattering around, running in every direction, screaming that there was a monster and for someone to save them. A young boy, only about 4 years younger than me ran by and I caught up his arm in my hand.

"Boy, where is the demon?" He just stared up and me until his eyes shifted to the right and he screamed. I dropped his arm as my stomach began to shift restlessly; it was right behind me…I didn't have any way of stopping it from eating me. I watched the boy run off, thinking it would be the last thing I saw, but I forced myself to turn and look at the monster, I had to do something, I just got my life back and I wasn't about to die now.

I turned slowly; once I was fully turned I could see the gigantic form of a centipede demon. A woman's body on the top, she stood up tall, staring down at me with a hungry expression.

"My sister was killed, was it you who killed her?" The sharp voice of the demon was very irritating and I couldn't listen to it for much longer.

"Your voice is very obnoxious, and no I have never even met your sister. And I have not killed a demon for 2 years but I have been itching to get back into it." The demon raised her body even higher, letting out a shrill scream. I covered my ears and turned my head to the right. A pitchfork lay only a few feet from me. The demon still screamed, her head facing the sky, so I flung my body to the right towards the pitchfork grabbing it up and turning in time for the demon to notice and lunge at me. The sharp end pierced her skin, she yelled and retreated back a few paces, ripping the pitchfork free from her skin.

"You!! You…I will eat you alive!" She lunged again, I threw the pitchfork out in front of my body, bracing for the impact of the giant beast, but it didn't come. I looked up, the wind began whipping around and the demon was being slowly dragged back, gaining speed as she went. Her shrill screams were never ending it seemed. Somehow the centipede demon disappeared into the hand of a man. He wore robes of dark purple and held a golden staff in his right hand.

"You…but I thought the other demon-"

"Ate me?" He asked smiling. "Yeah it would take a lot more than a little league demon like that to do me in." He moved closer to me, kneeling down and grabbing my hand into his. "But someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be walking alone in times like these, demons are everywhere, and couldn't bear the thought of something happening to your slender figure." My eyebrow arched as I listen to him 

spew nonsense at me. "So I think asking this question would benefit us both, would you…bear my children?" I cracked up when he said this and pulled my hand from his.

"Ooo you're funny, but that's got to be a joke. And I have no time for jokes right now, I am looking for someone." Although he clearly looked hurt, the monk stood up and replaced himself at my side.

"Tell me the name of this person, maybe I know who it is?"

"His name is Inuyasha." The monk choked a little on his own spit and looked at me with strange eyes.

"Um, Inuyasha, that would be the demon who is bound to the tree of ages correct? Now why would you want to visit someone you can't talk to?"

"BOUND TO THE TREE OF AGES!? What are you talking about?"

"The priestess Kikyo bound Inuyasha to a tree 50 years ago because he tried to steal the sacred jewel."

"50 years? I thought I was only asleep for 2 years? Oh my god…I'm ancient!!" My hands groped my face, searching for signs of my age showing. But by the way the monk showed how strange this was in his expression, I could tell I didn't look any older than 17. "So tell me monk, what is your name?"

"You first."

"But I asked you fir- oh whatever, my name is Ayami, I am an exorcist."

"Oh, are you sure? You didn't seem to be having much luck with that demon earlier?" He laughed, I merely glared at him. "Yeah, well, anyway…my name is Miroku, and I am a monk."

With the introduction of our names, we set off to the tree of ages to see firsthand if Inuyasha was still bound to the tree, and if there was some way I could save him.


	4. Dead End

"So monk-"I started, but was quickly cut across.

"It's Miroku actually. I would appreciate using names if we are to be partners." He smiled at me and I got the distinct feeling that the word "partners" didn't mean the same thing to him that it meant to me.

"Yeah…err-Miroku, so are you certain that Inuyasha is bound to the tree of ages? Could there be some mistake there?" I stopped walking and turned, expectantly, towards the monk in the dark purple robes, waiting for a response that would give me some hope. He just shook his head and said

"I am one hundred percent certain that the Inuyasha you seek is the very half demon that is bound to the tree of ages. Lady Kikyo did it because he had tried to steal the demon stone." He paused when I looked puzzled, realizing I would have no idea what that was. I had taken an entire day's walk to explain my story to him and he was just starting to comprehend my need to find Inuyasha. "The demon stone is a stone that grants the true desires of the wielder. If it got into the wrong hands, the darkness inside that person's or demon's heart, no matter how good they were, would take over the crystal and turn it evil. No one wants that to happen so…" He trailed off when he realized that I was no longer paying attention; my eyes were set ahead of me but not really seeing. I was only thinking of why Inuyasha could possibly have wanted to steal something like that. There was no way I could believe he did it for evil purposes; Inuyasha didn't have it in him to be bad. Not when I knew him. After about two hours of walking in silence, I could not, would not accept that Inuyasha had stolen the stone for any bad purpose, there had to be a valid reason. I would find out soon enough, we had arrived on the boarder of the village where the tree of ages rested. "Ayami?" my concentration was broken by Miroku's voice, he sounded concerned. "Ayami, we are here, can you please snap out of it so we can ask for directions?"

My eyes snapped to his face and I scowled at him. "You cannot ask for directions yourself? Men…worthless…stupid monk…" I murmured as I stalked off towards a small shop with some village folk in front of it. I raised a hand to them, showing I meant no harm, as they eyed me and my monkey friend walking closer to them. "We were wondering how to get to the tree of ages. Can you point us in the right direction?" They merely stared at us. I sighed when I realized they were going to be of no help to us, and I thanked them and moved on. I turned to Miroku. "We might just have to find it on our own."

"Well, I am assuming it is near the temple because lady Kikyo shot Inuyasha from the top step-" He couldn't finish his thought because a small person jumped out in front of us and begin tugging on my kimono. (I had yet to find a proper outfit for me to wear but the monk insisted on getting me out of my torn old rag of a kimono and into a newer one, which he bribed off of a young woman using methods I would consider very inappropriate.) The child, a young boy, no older than six, began pulling us towards the temple in the distance. When we didn't budge he looked up at us expectantly.

"I know tree of ages. Follow." He didn't speak well for a child that was so old. I didn't complain, and began jogging after his energy filled run, the monk keeping up a leisurely speed at my side. I thought about tripping him, but that wouldn't be a nice thing to do, not in front of the child. It took only about a minute to reach the base of the stairs which led to the temple.

"Thanks kid, but we could have made it to the temple by ourselves." Miroku stated, clearly annoyed that we were not at the tree of ages. The boy cocked his head at the monk and frowned.

"This not tree old man. That tree!" He turned to face the woods adjacent to the temple. Almost further than the eye could see, stood a large and very old looking tree with vines all around it and a small clearing surrounding its base. The boy ran behind me and began pushing on my legs, pushing me towards the woods, towards the tree. "I no go. You, you will go." And then he ceased the pressure on my legs and took off towards the village, not stopping once to look back at us.

"Hmm, strange child." The monk chided. I paid no attention for I was running full speed towards the barely visible tree. It took me less than thirty seconds to reach the base. I bent over my knees, catching my breath. Once I was certain my lungs would hold, I straightened out, the same moment that Miroku appeared beside me. I heard a gasp from him, but I assumed the shock of seeing someone attached to a tree would be immense, even if the person was a half demon. I opened my eyes slowly at first and then, when I could no longer stand the anxiety that was washing over me; I pulled my eyes fully open and stared at the tree of ages. The tree where my best friend had been bound for fifty years while I was turned to stone, I stared blankly at an empty tree. Nothing was left. If Inuyasha had been here, he was not here anymore. Suddenly a great swell of grief washed over me and I slumped to the ground, big tears swelling from my open eyes. As Miroku bent down to wrap his arms around my stiff shoulders, thick globs of rain started to fall from the sky which had been sunny just a few moments earlier. Miroku momentarily withdrew his arms from my shoulder, though I didn't notice, as he tried to connect the two events. After a few minutes of silence, he replaced his arms and leaned into me, whispering into my ear that it would all be alright, and we would find Inuyasha. Miroku swore to me in this quiet moment, in the rain, while I was silently sobbing, that he would reunite me with my long lost best friend. I nodded numbly, not sure if that was ever going to happen, seeming as my nearly 55 year journey had yielded no results so far. I just sat there, staring at the tree of ages where my best friend was supposed to be, wondering where he was now.

A/N: sorry about the first couple chapters where there were really awful grammar mistakes, I tried to make it better in this chapter, probably didn't do much better. Also, the main character's name is Ayami Hiwatari, sorry for the minor confusion in the first chapter where her name suddenly switched to Saori. That was probably the name of a character from another fanfic I was writing at the time. Anyway, enjoy and reviews would be awesome!


	5. So Close

Inuyasha paced the floor in the house of the woman who says she is Kikyo's sister. He couldn't quite wrap his brain around the idea that fifty years had passed, Kikyo was dead, her little sister was all grown up, and the world was completely different. Not to mention the new girl who came through a well from a different world and released him from the tree of ages. He collapsed to the floor under the weight of his thoughts. He tried to remember back to the day he was bound to the tree.

***

He had been in the shrine with the pink crystal that he was about to steal. He wanted it to locate his friend who was kidnapped by demons four years earlier and whom he had not been able to locate since. He grabbed the sacred jewel and busted out of the shrine, bringing more attention to him than he needed. He was running into the woods when he heard something whistling towards him. He had turned just in time to see Kikyo's sacred arrow and then it pierced his heart and pinned him to the tree of ages. He was there for fifty years. Until just this morning, that is.

***

Kagome, the young girl who had saved him by pulling the arrow from his chest, stood in the corner wearing some very familiar robes.

"Cant she wear something else?" He moaned to Lady Kaede, the sister to his dead lover. Kagome turned on him and glowered, crossing her arms.

"I will NOT change, my clothes are a mess!" She turned away from him. There was nothing Inuyasha could do about the current clothing situation. He just needed to focus on other things for now.

"So I was bound to that damn tree for fifty years?" Suddenly, saying it aloud, made something inside his head click. His purpose, the entire reason that he was bound to that tree, the girl he wanted to save, was most likely dead by now. Now a day, not many women lived to be over sixty, especially not ones kidnapped by demons. Inuyasha's expression turned completely blank, all emotion left him, and his heart felt like it had been ripped out. All that was left of him was a huge gaping hole where the love for Ayami once was. Kagome looked over and sadness crossed her face as she realized what he must have realized, he was gone for fifty years, all his loved ones must be gone. Before she could cross the small room to comfort him, he was up and out the door in one swift movement. Both Kaede and Kagome could merely look after him and hope that he would not suffer too much.

***

Ayami sighed as she watched Miroku persuade a local tavern owner to let us stay the night for free, including food, because there was a demon we would banish for him that haunted his inn. When Miroku gestured back to me, I thought I heard the mention of "my woman" in his sentence and I thought about murdering him right then and there, maybe then there would be something haunting this inn. The man, the my great displeasure, agreed to let us stay the night, obvious fear in his eyes at knowing there was a demon in his midst. I sighed once more and headed towards the sliding door that Miroku had held open for me. Of course it was a one bedroom room. That would be Miroku for you. As I stepped across the threshold, I could have sworn I saw something red flash down the stairs near the temple, but it was so far away and it was so dark, that I didn't think twice about it. I got into the room and lay down on the mats. Since I had no belongings, I could only sleep in the kimono I wore. I felt Miroku watching me from the other side of the room, near the sliding doors that were still open. He must have decided something because the doors suddenly shut and he was prancing across the floor and knelt down next to me on the mat.

"Care to make some room for me?" He crooned, so close to my ear that I knew, with one swift movement of my fist, I could break his nose.

"Not unless you want broken bones," I added smoothly, eyes closed and hands behind my head acting as a pillow. I knew he would not try it again because he moved to the wall near the door and crossed his legs, leaning against the wall and making himself comfortable. He would be spending the night like that as long as I could do anything about it. But it didn't matter; once he fell asleep I was going off on my own. His promise meant nothing to me; I needed to find Inuyasha on my own. I did not want to be attached to anyone else that I might lose.

***

Inuyasha sped through the trees until he reached the tree of ages. He touched it with his right hand, gently, hoping deep down inside that it might send him back in time so he could continue the search for Ayami again. It did nothing, the welling anticipation in his stomach died and he slumped to the ground. He fought back the feeling of tears so effectively that the feeling of sadness turned to anger. His fist pounded at the tree leaving deep, broken wounds in the tree's trunk. Suddenly his nose twitched, his ears cocked back. Someone was approaching from behind him, coming this way, slowly though, almost dragging their feet. He rocketed himself behind a nearby tree so quickly that he had to nearly fall down to stop from rocketing too far. He waited.

Soon he saw the culprit who had been the cause of the noise and the smell. It was strange, something about this human smelled bad, evil almost. Like they were using a demon's weapon, but this being was definitely, one hundred percent human. The person walked into the clearing, eyes up at the quarter moon which shone brightly into the clearing surrounding the tree of ages. The girl was beautiful; she had long dark brown hair, about to her waist, which hung loosely, a few shorter strands framing her face. Her eyes were a gorgeous green and brown that reflected the moon light in such a wonderful way. Her light green kimono with pink and blue flowers on it did not look right though, she didn't seem girly enough to even want to wear a kimono that looked that way, despite her beauty. He noticed how her face looked grief stricken, like she had just lost someone, and that she could not be more than nineteen years old. Something about this girl reminded him of his long lost best friend, although he knew that that was impossible. Even if Ayami had survived the demons and the fifty long years of waiting, she would have been closer to her seventies than to her late teens. But still, he couldn't shake that there was something about this girl that drew him in.

***

I paused in front of the tree, a few yards back, just into the clearing. I looked up at the beautiful moon, although it was only one quarter, it filled the clearing with an amazing amount of light. My eyes sparkled and I could tell that tears wanted to fight their way to the surface; I wasn't going to allow that. Right now I needed to focus on finding a trail that would lead me to Inuyasha, I knew he had to be alive, if he was dead, someone would surely know and his body would be somewhere close by right? The Inn owner had said that he had gone to the tree the morning before because you can find the best mushrooms around the tree of ages, and Inuyasha was still bound there. So what could have happened in the twenty four hour period of time that he went unseen by the villagers?

I walked forward to the tree and placed my right hand on the trunk, my face down, not want to look at what may have been the last place my best friend was seen alive. My hand moved slowly down the trunk until I felt something sharp in my finger. I pulled my hand away quickly and examined my pinky finger which had a small sliver in it. I pulled it out with ease and looked up the see where on the smooth surface of the tree, this small sliver could have come from. It didn't take long to notice the five or six deep impacts in the trunk of the tree that definitely were not there a couple hours ago. I stepped forward and examined the impacts closely. It looked as though someone had been punching the tree with their fist. And it seemed to be about the size of a human hand, as I had balled up a fist and placed it inside one of the holes to find it matched quite well. So either a human did this or a small demon, and I had a hard time believing either. A small demon could not do this much damage to a sacred tree, and a human could do even less than a small demon could. I pondered this but not for long before I heard footsteps behind me. I sighed and turned, knowing exactly who it would be. I turned saying  
"Miroku, why did you follow me all the way out he-" But I couldn't finish my sentence because the breath had rushed out of my body in a gasp.


	6. UNITED

"I…Inuyasha?!" I stammered. It couldn't be him. But he was wearing the same fire rat red outfit he always wore growing up. He was looking at me with an expression which, I was sure, mimicked the one I was wearing. I took a wary step forward. I had been around demons long enough to know that this could very well be a trap of some sort. Maybe a demon disguised as my long lost best friend? I took another hesitant step but suddenly the figure in front of me rushed forward and had his arms around me.

It was such an intense feeling having him so close to me again. As soon as his arms were around me I knew it was him. No one had ever hugged me like this before and he smelled just like I remember. He was taller though, and seemed a little gruffer. His hair was pretty much the same, but he was wearing a necklace? 'Weird,' I thought to myself when he finally pulled away to look me over.

"You smell just like her!" He began walking around me, looking me up and down, looking for something that said for sure that it was me. "You look just like her too. But you couldn't be…she died a long time ago…" It seemed like he was talking to himself and not really to me. "But if you aren't her then how did you know my name?" This time it was directed at me.

"It is me, Inuyasha. Your best friend, Ayami?" He didn't answer right away, it appeared that he was trying to work out how I could possibly have survived the fifty years that had passed without aging a day. "I was under a spell like you. That's why I haven't aged." I offered, hoping he would realize that it actually was me.

"And if I don't believe you?" He asked, stopping in front of me and crossing his arms.

"Hmm. Remember the day your mom passed away?" His eyes hardened. Obviously not the best choice of memories to draw on for proof, but I figured it would prove without a doubt that I was the Ayami from his past. "She put your hand on mine and then hers on top? And she said you had to promise to take care of me?" His eyes saddened but he never looked away from me.

"You really are Ayami." He rushed forward and hugged me again. Though, for the life of me, I couldn't understand why he would hug me first before figuring out if it was really me.

"You know, if I had been a demon I could have killed you already. Why did you hug first then ask questions?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I guess- Guess I was so stunned by seeing you that I didn't really think at first" He smiled at me. "How did you get cursed?"

We spent the next hour sitting under the tree he had been pinned to for fifty years telling our stories to each other. He was appalled to hear where I had been for the five years that he had been searching for me.

"I had been in that area but all the demons I encountered said they knew nothing of Jinpa." He looked pissed, like he wanted to go out and rip the heads off of every demon he ran into.

"Hey now…I escaped, I learned some pretty neat things, and ended up getting turned to stone. If you had rescued me we wouldn't be here right now. So please, don't worry about it. Everything happens for a reason" I smiled at him and he seemed to calm down, though I could tell he wouldn't forgive himself for a long time for breaking the promise he made to his mother on her death bed.

"So you just got freed this morning from the tree? What great timing on my part." He nodded solemnly. I knew it was because, even though everything with Kikyo happened fifty years ago, it seemed like just yesterday to Inuyasha.

"I hope you know, I didn't leave you to die because I wanted to be with Kikyo." He mumbled while looking off into the woods. I assumed that was the direction Kikyo's arrow had come from.

"I never said you did"

"I know, but…When I met Kikyo I was angry and alone and depressed because I thought you had been killed. I had no hopes of ever finding you. That place you were in was masked from my ability to smell it and was also hidden very well. If you didn't know where it was you couldn't find it. I was so pissed…" He turned back to me. "But if I had known you were alive I never would have stopped looking."

"Inuysha…again: If you hadn't stopped looking for me you would have died by now or at least aged quite a bit by the time I came back from being stone. So please, stop beating yourself up. I forgave you a long time ago." He seemed to feel better after this. His ears suddenly twitched and he turned towards the direction I had come from.

"Whose there?!" He jumped to his feet and made clawed hands, ready to attack.

"Ayami?" It was Miroku.

"Down Inuyasha, it's a friend…kind of." I said. Miroku came into the clearing and saw Inuyasha and then me sitting on the ground still.

"I see you found your friend then?" He asked, looking Inuyasha up and down. "Though I must say, I expected you to be…well, bigger." Inuyasha growled.

"Yeah well who the hell are you?!" He snapped back.

"My name is Miroku and I am a monk. I also saved Ayami and now she is going to bear my children." He smiled so sweetly it was hard to tell if he was joking or not. But Inuyasha obviously thought he wasn't.

"You BASTARD!" He lunged forward and clawed at Miroku who parried with his staff. I jumped to my feet and focused my energy. I stomped the ground with my right foot and a fissure appeared in the ground between the two men.

"Now, now, shouldn't you ask the lady if she wants you to fight for her before you start acting like fools?" They looked shocked, neither of them had any idea what I was capable of, thanks to the old lady exorcist. "Now, I am hungry, how about you show me to the village and get me some food"

"Which one of us?" Miroku asked.

"Obviously me you idiot." Inuyasha retorted.

"Both of you." I said defiantly. I wasn't going to pick and chose, I was hungry and that's the end of the story. "Come on, stop fighting and lets get something to eat." Miroku nodded.

"Alright, if it means food then I will concede defeat for now."

"Fine, but just cause you asked, Ayami." Inuyasha added.

"Good, I can feel a wonderful friendship between the three of us about to form." I smiled and they both turned, sneering at each other. 'Or maybe the beginning of a horrible rivalry' I thought to myself as we made our way toward the village.


	7. Whats love got to do with it?

I could feel my eyebrow twitching as I watched the two men glare at each other. Miroku was pretending he didn't notice Inuyasha's evil eye while he ate his food slowly and properly. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was devouring his food in between glances at Miroku and sitting like a dog. I had already finished my food and turned to the old woman in the room. She wore an eye patch and was the younger sister of the woman Inuyasha had been pinned to the sacred tree by. She was also the woman he was in love with. Some strange gurgling noise escaped my throat when I thought about it but no one seemed to have noticed.

"Lady Kaede, are you sure it is alright with you if we stay here for a while?" I asked. I had no please else to go and I didn't think Miroku would mind getting free food and a place to sleep. The old lady nodded and slightly smiled.

"Thy worries are kind but not needed, child." She replied. Just then the straw door was pulled aside and a young girl, a little younger than me, walked in wearing the strangest and most revealing clothes I had ever seen on a woman.

"I think you should stay too! It would be nice to have a girl my age rather than just having that thing in the corner." She said, sounding rather annoyed, and pointing at Inuyasha. He turned and his bowl of food went flying out of his hands and into Miroku's lap.

"You trying to say something woman!?" He yelled and jumped to his feet. He was ready to fight someone, I could tell.

"Depends on if you realize you're a jerk or not!" Kagome retorted.

"Your gonna pay for that woman!"

"And my name is not WOMAN!" She shouted.

"Right…ANNOYING WOMAN!!!!" They were face to face having a rather loud game of who can be the most obnoxious. It annoyed me to see him so close to her, but what could I do…we obviously couldn't be as close as we were before I was kidnapped, that was a long time ago after all.

"Inuyasha calm down. You are being rude." I said. They both stopped yelling and turned towards me. Inuyasha looked at me, shocked, but averted his eyes and without saying anything he sat back down. Kagome looked at me kind of confused.

"Uh- thank you, I think?" She said, hesitantly.

"Don't worry about it. But you really shouldn't encourage him like that. He is a very competitive guy but on the inside he is a good one." I stopped. Was he still like that? I had no idea. "At least," I added. "He used to be when we were kids." He glanced up at me with a sad, longing look on his face, but turned away before I could look him in the eyes.

Kagome looked back and forth between the two of us. "Are you guys siblings?" She asked.

"No. But we grew up together for the most part." I replied. Inuyasha still wasn't looking at me or Kagome, or anyone for that matter. He just 'hmphed' when I said "for the most part".

"Then, maybe…are you in love?" Inuyasha began choking on something invisible and rolling around on the floor. I felt my eyes grow wide. I realized I wasn't exactly sure. I definitely loved him when we were kids. But there had been times when I was being kept by the demons when I would have given my life to just see Inuyasha one last time. Would that be love? I corrected my wide eyed expression.

"No" I said plainly.

Inuyasha immediately stopped choking and sat up, looking straight at me. But this time it was me who averted my eyes. I didn't want him to see that I was lying to Kagome. But for him it seemed like just yesterday he had been pinned to a tree by the woman he loved. He had tried to move on from me. I can understand that. He thought I was dead. I guess I would have tried to move on with my life as well. And then there was Kagome. He had only known her for about a day and yet they already seemed to have tension between them. I could already sense, just from being around then, that it wasn't a tension caused by hatred. Kaede had said earlier that Kagome might be the reincarnation of the late priestess whom Inuyasha had loved. This could be why Inuyasha was so testy with her but also couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Almost like he was expecting her to transform into Kikyo at any moment and throw herself into his arms.

I couldn't take this away from him by telling him my feelings. Besides, I hadn't actually seen him in, what seemed to me like five years, but to the world around us it was fifty-five years. No matter how I tried to fool myself, I couldn't help the fact that Inuyasha definitely would have changed in the five years that I was gone. I didn't know by how much, but if he could fall in love with someone…

"Im going for a walk." I said, standing up, averting my eyes from everyone except Kaede. "Thank you for the meal and giving us a place to stay. Miroku and I are very grateful." I headed for the door and moved the straw aside.

"I am going with you." My heart skipped a beat. But then the voice registered with me. It wasn't Inuyasha.

"No." I said gruffly.

Miroku was taken aback. "Brushed off so easily" He looked depressed. Inuyasha didn't turn to laugh at him though. He just stared after me, with that same sad and yearning expression that he had had on earlier.

I walked until I was lost in the woods. I hadn't even noticed how long I had been walking or in what direction I had come from. I turned to look around me. "Damn it. Of course I would get myself lost." I sighed and sat down on the ground. "Why is everything getting so complicated?" I was so lost in thought I never heard the snapping twig coming from behind me.


	8. Lady Centipede

Chapter 8

I smelled it first. The demon that was behind me. I had been so lost in my thoughts that the snapping twigs and slithering didn't register in my brain. But then, when I finally noticed the demon, it was too late. The lady centipede shot her tail at me so fast I didn't even have time to turn around and face her. The tail wrapped around my whole body and tightened, twirling me around in circles as it did so. I ended up facing her, eye to eye, 7 feet in the air.

"Where is the jewel?" She hissed. I tried to remember what Inuyasha had told me earlier but my mind was going blank from the pain. But then it came back to me.

"You're the demon that almost killed Kagome earlier!" I said, barely able to get the words out. She squeezed harder and I winced, tremors of pain running down my spine. If she kept this up much longer I would pass out, and then she would surely kill me…or eat me alive. So I had to keep her busy, distracted, till I could summon the strength to do something. "You wanna know where the jewel is?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yes you stupid human girl, where is it! I know it was with that girl in green earlier and then the half demon saved her. If it weren't for him!"

I knew what I had to do. "I know where the half demon is. But you will have to let me go. I will take you there." I tried my best to sound brave and like I knew exactly where the jewel was and that I really wanted to help her. But it was hard with little to no air entering my lungs. All I knew was that she had to let me out of her vice grip or I would die.

"If you try to trick me…I will kill you slowly and painfully" I nodded and she slowly released her coiled up tail, lowering me to the ground. I knelt there for a couple seconds trying to regain some strength. But she prodded me with one of her 6 arms and I had to get up and start moving. I wasn't entirely sure which direction I had come from, especially since she had twirled me around so much and caused me to become disoriented. But I tried my best to follow my own trail.

Soon we were close to the village. I could smell the cooking fires and hear the low murmers of families talking in their homes. I didn't want anyone to get hurt to I had to keep her out of the village. But what to do now? I couldn't call for Inuyasha because she would think I was tricking her, she would be right, but at the same time….not a good idea. And she would never agree to stay put while I go get the jewel. So that left one option. Attack now.

I shifted my weight to the left side. She was standing close behind me on the right. I could feel her eyes scanning the village and her body began moving forward, ready to attack all the oblivious villagers. And then I sprung into action. I turned, swinging my right leg around with as much force as possible, hitting her square in the chest since her head was lower to the ground when she was slithering around. It didn't do much damage but it did give me an advantage. I pulled out a small blade I carry at my side, it was made from the bones of a semi powerful demon, given to me by the old lady exorcist. It could cut through demon's skin like it was butter. If I could get close enough, that is. But with her top half falling back, and her centipede body struggling to steady her human half, she was vulnerable. I leapt at her, sticking the blade in her right shoulder before she regained balance and grabbed my left arm. She thrust me through the last remaining bit of woods and into the village.

I wanted to force her back into the woods but unfortunately a village child saw me get thrown and then saw the centipede woman crawl out of the woods. He screamed and started running through the village, which, of course set the centipede woman into a rage. She began to chase the child. I staggered to my feet, wincing at the pain in my left arm, but I kept going. I couldn't let her hurt the child. I rounded the corner of a house and saw the child being held in the air by his legs.

"Put him down!" I screamed at the demon. "It is me you have to fight." Just then I saw a flash of red behind the demon and I knew I had to keep her distracted. I began edging closer. "Drop the boy." I had my blade in my hand and I brandished it, making her watch me move it around, threatening her to release the boy or else. But then Inuyasha jumped up above the demon.

"Iron reaver soul stealer!" He yelled, bringing his claws down onto the beast, slashing her to bits.

I ran forward trying to get to the boy before he hit the ground but Miroku, the monk got there faster, catching the boy in his arms. I ran to his side. "Now will you bear my children?" He asked me, the sweetest smile ever on his face. I smacked his head.

The boy ran back to his house, crying and screaming about the demon. He had managed, through his tears, to thank us though. I turned to Inuyasha who was standing a ways away with Kagome. Our eyes met and he turned away, a pained look crossing his face.

"You have to explain to me what there is between you two…" Miroku said.

"I don't have to explain anything to you, monk." Was my reply.

"Well how about explaining why you brought this demon to the village then?"

"I was in the woods and it found me. I didn't bring it anywhere." I glared at him and he raised his hands in defense.

"Alright, alright, no more questions."

"Gee, thanks." I stormed off back towards Kaede's hut. I didn't plan to stay there, however. I simply wanted to thank her for the invitation to stay there, and then I would sleep in the grass by the river. It was right near the edge of the village so the likelihood I would be attacked by demons there was slim. I just needed to be alone and without Miroku asking me to bear his children, Kagome asking me about my past with Inuyasha, or Inuyasha giving me pained looks and then refusing to talk to me. "This sucks" I said once I was alone next to the water. The grass was soft and I lay there, staring up and the bright stars. There was no moon tonight so all the stars were visible. I sighed, remembering all the times me and Inuyasha used to camp out in the grass together like this. 'That isn't gonna happen anytime soon' I sighed and then lost myself in dreams of my childhood.


End file.
